New here!

[TheSlingMama]

Hi there mamas!  My daughter is 18 months on the 10th and I'm looking for information on Waldorf schools.  There is only one in my state and it would be an hour an a half move for her to attend it.  SO is not quite on board with this.  :(  So, can you lovely mamas tell me about Waldorf, why you think it's important, etc. - anything to help me convince SO that Waldorf is important enough for us to move.  Thanks ladies!

[WednesdayO]

Hi there back at ya!

I'm not sure where you're located, but there is only one established Waldorf school here in Chapel Hill, NC (but there are others developing, especially around Asheville). Anyway, a tiny bit of why my husband accepted the job he now has was related to where the school was, and choosing where to live was greatly influenced by it! We went from being over 1.5 hours away to less than a half hour away. For me, I've seen what the other options for schooling are firsthand as a volunteer and student teacher etc. I know DD pretty well of course, and also after touring a couple of other schools in this area, I realized the Waldorf school was a perfect fit for her and that she truly loves it herself.

What is so important to me is to preserve childhood and a love of learning. Children should be taught at their developmental level and not based on a set of standards someone laid out as normal for all. The curriculum is artistic and promotes healthy social and emotional development, and the power of nature is not forgotten.

Here's something I wrote as part of a book review that I'd like to share to explain my viewpoint. Hope it helps!

In many schools, there are expectations put upon children to prepare them academically for first grade when so many of them were not prepared for today's Kindergarten in the first place. From then on, it's a snowball effect in which each subsequent teacher is trying to catch every child up on academic standards. What ever happened to preparing them for life? Einstein said, "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.", and Waldorf education somehow follows that train of thought. As more time passes, play is devalued more and more... then people wonder why children have to critical thinking and problem solving skills. It's evident that so much can be learned through fantasy play and storytelling... much more than simply learning what you need to pass a test.